All Flash, No Substance

I was on a conference call the other day which included a senior Democratic consultant. The issue of whether a health care bill would become law came up and this consultant (whom I like and respect) said, "Yes. There will be a health care bill."

Which, of course, I could not let go without saying, "But what, if anything, will be below the title?"

Laughter all around, but I was right about it. Obama paid off Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb) the way he and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev) had paid off Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La) last month.

Put enough money on the table and just about any Democratic U.S. Senator will think, gulp, blink, and drag the pot with the rationalization that "this is all for the greater good."

Pelican Pellets.

This is no different than putting a horse's head into Jack Woltz' bed to force him into giving Johnny Fontaine a part in his movie in The Godfather. It was a deal Nelson couldn't refuse.

There is no Socialized Option in the bill. Abortions will not be covered. It is unclear who will have to pay how much or when for what coverage. All in all it is health care reform that has nothing to do with health care and contains little, if any, reform.

Other than this: If Democrats continue to control all the levers of power at the Federal level, this will change and change and change over the next two or three Congresses until health care in America is pronounced equal for everyone and mediocre for all.

Then there is the Copenhagen debacle. Obama and the other chickens little spent several months leading up to the U.N.- led conference telling us that it would probably not lead to a legally binding agreement.

That is called: Lowering the bar so when Obama got there and nothing came out the other end, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs could tell the press corps that "we told you not to raise your expectations too high, if you didn't listen to us that's your look-out."

Obama has spent some part of every week since he has been in office blaming the George W. Bush for something. One of the somethings Obama constantly blames Bush for is being a cowboy - going it alone without the love and support of all the other nations on the planet.

So, Obama saddles up and rides off to Denmark to save the day.

The day didn't want to be saved because India, China, Brazil are sort of at the top of their industrialization cycle and aren't all that interested in having Barack Obama tell them what they can and can't do.

So, after Obama's speech - which drew few kudos - I, C, and B were in a meeting. Sheriff Obama heard about it and, spurs a-jingling, threw open the swinging doors of the saloon and invited himself into the card game.

Who's the cowboy now?

One hundred and ninety two nations meeting for two weeks came up with what USA Today described as:

a three-page document called the Copenhagen Accord in which rich nations, including the United States, agreed to cut emissions of greenhouse gases.

Chief White House apologist David Axelrod, again according to USA Today,

"called the agreement a 'great step forward' in a long-term negotiation. 'Nobody says that this is the end of the road,' Axelrod said."

Axelrod sounds like he is describing Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion starting out on the Yellow Brick Road en route the Emerald City to see the Wizard.

Who do we think the phony-baloney man behind the curtain is in this incarnation?

According to the NY Times - not exactly the Fox News of the publishing industry:

"The most tangible outcome of the climate agreement announced here Friday turned out to be cash … The accord calls for the establishment of the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund to support immediate action to help curb emissions and to help communities adapt to the effects of global warming."

How much? Up to $100 billion PER YEAR.

So, we have a health care bill that does nothing to improve health care but costs over $800 billion and a global warming agreement which compels no country to do anything to reduce greenhouse gasses at a cost of $100 billion per year.

It's not so much "All flash, no substance." Obama should take note of that Texas saying, "All hat, no cattle."

On the Secret Decoder Ring today: Links to the stories reference in the column, plus an explanation of the Jack Woltz reference. Also a Mullfoto from my back door the night of the Big Snow Storm and a Catchy Caption of the Day.